Short Summary

Travelogue. Mute Version.

Description

Mute version. SOUND VERSION AVAILABLE - Film ID 3007.12.

High angle shot of the river Liffey flowing through Dublin in Eire (Southern Ireland, Republic of Ireland). Closer shot showing cars travelling beside the river in the docks area. Various high angle shots of the city. A train crosses the river by bridge. Titles superimposed over scenic shot of river estuary (?) read: "See you at the Pillar". Two men stand on a hillside, one looks through binoculars. Low angle shot of a building with loudspeakers attached and many flags of different nations flying. A golf course. L/S of man being assisted by a young caddie. L/S of the clubhouse. Three men stand together - one of the men practices his stroke. [Two narrators speak (as the English commentary cannot be found, the French commentary was used for cataloguing purposes) - they seem to be making a joke revolving around Guinness and golf. One suggests that the other is more interested in the Guinness than the golf].

Four men affix a Guinness banner on the outside of a tent. C/U of a sign reading "Carrolls International Press." A group of four boys stand around chatting - they are all selling copies of the Sunday Mirror. L/S from a high angle of a Dublin street. Man rides a carriage drawn by a horse. L/S of a busy road where many cars and a bus cross a junction by the river. High angle of a very busy Dublin street - probably O'Connell Road. Closer view of what seems to be a monument in the middle of the road - much traffic. M/S of Gresham Hotel with front of car in foreground. Closer shot of the hotel facade with people passing in front. [The narrators talk about changes which have taken place in Dublin - although much has stayed the same.] A shop front - probably a department store. C/U of a doorman in uniform. [Narrator talks of how number of tourists to the city is rising as well as exports.] Various shops are shown, including a shop window containing suitcases and West & West - a clock makers (?). L/S of a bus travelling down a wide street with cyclists. [One of the narrators speaks of the beautiful hotels of Dublin] Shots of the facades of several buildings. Some covered with climbing plants. [Poetical voiceover about the colours of an early morning in Dublin, the doorways and balconies of "Morton".] Zoom in to a plaque which designates the home of Oscar Wilde.

L/S of street seen earlier with horse drawn carriage. Carriage passes close to camera. Various shots of facades of buildings - windows, wrought iron balconies. ["Only superficial people judge by appearances."] C/Us of details on the side of a building.

Several shots of stucco work on the interior wall of a building. [Narrator mentions Lady Holberry - sp?] Low angle shot of the sign outside an Orphanage. Low angle shot of children running down a staircase in the Orphanage. One boy slides down the bannisters. As they reach the bottom a monk comes through the door and greets them. He takes off one of the boys' hats and ruffles his hair. [One of the narrators states that what he wants to see are the inhabitants of Dublin, the other states that he doesn't have to look far to find them.]

We see Dubliners at work and at play. A man cleans a shop window. A group of young girls chat to an old lady. A group of women gossip. A young couple stand by some railings. Two teenage boys chat. A man in religious robes stands in front of a shop window. Facade of a building which has the symbol of a raised hand and the words: "Each for all - all for each. Head office." - on Parnell Place? L/S of a Dublin street -Dorset Street? C/U of road sign for Moore Street - camera pulls back. Horses pull carts laden with produce. M/S of shop front - "The Sewing Box - Everything for dressmaking." A young child helps to unload boxes from a cart in front of the shop. M/S of a butcher's shop - Bernard Carney. M/S of Reddys fish and poultry shop. M/Ss of women market traders and their stalls. Various fruit and vegetable goods for sale. C/U of sign for Mick's Bar. C/U of women shoppers or stall holders. C/U of sign for Money Office. C/U of sign for O'Sullivans Lounge Bar. C/Us of various women at work on market stalls. M/S of a shop called McGrottys - a car spares shop.

Elderly woman looks at a stall selling shoes (?) C/U of shop front with sign reading Dominick (sic) McDonagh. Two elderly women look at vegetable stall. C/U of shop sign reading Jerry O'Dwyer. C/U of a sign - not all visible but reads: "World- All Human Life is There." M/Ss of various bars - Boland's, Cleary's, The Stag's Tail and Patrick F.O'Brien's "The Long Hall." Facades of houses and shops - one looks like an old-fashioned sweet or pastry shop, with three bicycles parked outside. C/U of sign reading "If your trouble is deep seated and long standing try kneeling" - presumably outside a church. L/S of a Dublin municipal building (not recognised).

Trinity College L/S. C/U of a statue of Goldsmith. Shot of people walking through an archway of Trinity College. Various shots of students in the college grounds. A group of nun in long flowing habits walk past. Low angle shot of cathedral. Jonathan Swift is mentioned. Interior of the cathedral. C/U of a bust of Swift (?) C/U of the flooring tiles in the cathedral which include two engraved tiles - one commemorating the life of Swift, the other Esther Johnson. C/U of the keys of an antiquated church organ. C/U of the organ pipes and the ornate carvings on the organ. C/U of a carved bible lectern in the shape of an eagle.

High angle L/S of very busy street. M/S of lots of children playing around a modern fountain. C/U of the fountain - angels. C/U of the children playing - hitting each other with their jackets and running around. C/Us of children's faces in various paintings. C/U of a painting of playwright George Bernard Shaw. Zoom in to plaque on the side of a house where George Bernard Shaw once lived. C/U of modern art painting in a gallery. Various paintings in the gallery. People stand and look at them.

View of the river with municipal building on the right - probably the Law Courts? Four small cannons lined up in a park. C/U of Irish flag flying at top of a building. C/U of street sign for O'Rahilly Parade. High angle shot of a man leading a young boy by the hand along O'Rahilly Parade. M/S of a domed building - the Law Courts again. Interior of the building - very high angle shot from high in the dome. Man walks through the circular space. Camera zooms in to what looks like bullet damage to pillars of the building (presumably from the Civil War of 1921/2.)

Various shots of the river, bridge, swans swimming etc. Child runs along rocks by the sea, castle in the background. [Narration mentions James Joyce.] Middle-aged men dive from rocks into the sea - L/S. C/U of a sign which reads: "Forty Foot. Gentlemen Only" - [French men on the soundtrack make a joke about this.] L/S of man sitting at a desk in front of a sign which reads: "Gentlemen's Bathing Place." M/S of several men standing around and smoking - one has a towel wrapped around his waist. A man dives into the sea at the bathing place.

M/S of a man at a golf scoring board. L/S of a large scoreboard sponsored by Carrolls International with flags flying. High angle shots of crowds at the golf course. Various shots of a golfing competition - competitors taking shots, commentators box (?), spectators etc. C/U of a Romanesque statue on the top of a building with a pigeon sitting on its head. L/S of a municipal building by the water's edge with a large boat in front of it. M/S of group of young people sitting on the steps of a building eating lunch. Several shots of people of varying ages sitting on park benches and watching the world go by. A priest stands outside a shop in a busy street.

Several scenic shots around a canal; woman lolls on the grass beside a small lock, man throws pebbles into the dappled water from a tree-lined bank, children stand around a lock and one jumps into the water. C/U signposts reading 'Phoenix Park' and 'Zoo' (plus the same in Gaelic). Several shots in Phoenix Park (?); people wandering around and sitting on benches. Swans and cygnets on the lake. Flamingos at the zoo. C/U of inscription on bottom of an obelisk dedicated to Wellington. M/S of a group of children riding on the back of a cart pulled by two small ponies. C/Us of children feeding an elephant through the bars of its cage. One boy pretends to fight with the elephant as he tries to grab him with his trunk. L/S of a monkey (gibbon?) swinging on a frame in his cage. C/U of hands of orang-utan gripping on to the bars of his cage, then shot of the orang-utan looking forlorn. C/U of a camel and of a seal (or a sea lion), it rears back on its hind legs. C/U of a parrot and a prairie dog (?) looking at each other. Prairie dogs (?) munch on food and run in and out of burrows. M/S - a chimpanzee chews something and holds his hand out for some more. C/U of the parrot. Hippopotamus slowly climbs out of its bath. M/S of group of people leaning over railings watching the hippo. They laugh. One man holds a cine camera.

L/S of tourists boarding an Irish airlines plane. C/U of the nose of the plane - named St Laurence O'Toole. M/S of a family boarding the plane. M/S of people standing on the observation deck. L/S of the plane taking off.

C/U of a mural which we then see is in the foyer of a modern building. People walk down the stairs of the building and out of the front door. L/S of the exterior of the building - probably a modern office block. L/S of modern circular building. L/S of the city as seen through the archway of a bridge. L/S of the river. M/S of people walking across a metal bridge. C/U of a Georgian house. Various shots of facades of buildings; a woman carries a suitcase into one of them. L/S of grand houses by a park. L/S of policeman directing traffic in the middle of a cross-roads. A van with the name of "Swift Brook - Paper Manufacturers" emblazoned on the side passes the camera.

C/U of mosaic at the entrance to the Stag's Head bar. Man walks across it. C/U of a pint of Guinness being poured and left to stand. L/S of the busy bar. C/U of two men drinking and smoking. Various other clients of the bar are shown. Many of the men are talking very earnestly and animatedly. One man jabs a finger on the shoulder of long-suffering acquaintance who rolls his eyes. A young woman sits at the bar and smokes talking to some male friends. Shot of clouds crossing the sun. L/S of crowds running on to a golf course to get a good viewpoint. C/U of drinkers in the bar. High angle of crowds at the golf. Player bends down to consider a shot. He takes his shot and gets the ball in the hole. Group chat at the bar. L/S of river estuary at low tide; birds stand on exposed mud flats.

Credits: Written and Directed by Peter Baylis. The Conversationalists were Anthony Quayle and Norman Rodway. Quotations from: Thomas Davis, William Dawson, Oliver Goldsmith, James Joyce "Ulysses", Seamus Kelly, Michael MacLiammoir, H. V. Morton, Flann O'Brien, Sean O'Casey, G.B. Shaw (George Bernard Shaw), Dean Swift, Oscar Wilde. Compiled by Seamus Kelly (Quidnunc). Music and Songs provided by "The Croppies" . Final shot of a pink door next to a yellow one in a row of terraced houses.

Note: The British soundtrack for this film is currently missing. Film has been transferred as mute, but French soundtrack exists. Cataloguer's notes on French commentary are in italics and brackets. Names of French "conversationalists" not known. English soundtrack found and waiting for transfer - should be available shortly (21/12/2001).

English soundtrack copy available. It can be found on Pathe Master tape 3007 - Film ID 3007.12. Check for better quality.

This cataloguer has never been to Dublin, so any further information on places featured which researchers could provide will be gratefully received. "The Pillar" refers to Nelson Pillar, apparently.